Ballynahatty, County Down Explained

Ballynahatty [1] is a townland in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the southern edge of Belfast. It contains the Giants Ring, a henge monument.[2]

The remains of a woman who was part of a Neolithic farming community were discovered buried in the henge in 1855. Now known as Ballynahatty woman, her genome was sequenced in 2015 and reveals a woman with black hair and brown eyes typical of those with Mediterranean heritage. This implies that Ballynahatty woman was part of a group of Early European Farmers (EEFs) that migrated across Europe in the Neolithic period, originating in the Middle East.

Ballynahatty is also the name of a townland, in the parish of Drumragh, County Tyrone.

References

54.5422°N -5.9567°W

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Celebrating Ulster's Townlands - Place Names in County Down. Ulster Place Names. 2007-12-04. https://web.archive.org/web/20080515195521/http://www.ulsterplacenames.org/county_down_place-names.htm. 2008-05-15. dead.
  2. Web site: Ballynahatty. Environment and Heritage Service NI - State Care Historic Monuments. 2007-12-03. PDF. https://web.archive.org/web/20120722033155/http://www.doeni.gov.uk/niea/state_care_monuments_2007.pdf. 2012-07-22. dead.